Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission an independent assessment of the financial and operational implications of fully devolving rail infrastructure and services to the Welsh Government.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK and Welsh Governments are focussed on transformation of the rail sector, modernising and improving rail services and delivering a more integrated, accountable, and passenger-focused railway.
As part of the wider rail reform agenda, and through continued collaborative working, we will be confirming devolved responsibilities, funding arrangements, and joint governance mechanisms, thereby strengthening accountability in the delivery of rail services across the Wales and Borders area.
A joint Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be published in Spring 2026 and will be supported by a partnership agreement between Great British Railways and Transport for Wales. This will ensure we are working towards jointly agreed shared objectives for Wales and Borders rail services and UK services serving destinations in the Wales and Borders geography.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason Welsh Ministers do not have the same statutory powers as Scottish Ministers to produce a High Level Output Specification for rail infrastructure.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As set out in the Secretary of State’s Written Statement to Parliament on 5 November, UK Government and Welsh Ministers are committed to modernising and improving rail services and delivering a more integrated, accountable, and passenger-focused railway in Wales that respects the current devolution settlement.
Welsh Ministers will be statutory consultees on the England and Wales Statement of Objectives, and a formal Memorandum of Understanding, which is expected to be published in Spring 2026, will codify devolved responsibilities, funding arrangements, and joint governance mechanisms. This will strengthen accountability in the delivery of all rail services across the Wales and Borders geography.
This Memorandum of Understanding will include our joint intention for shared objectives and control period / funding period planning, and a dedicated, empowered Business Unit within Great British Railways (GBR) that will deliver against those shared objectives.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, will the Government will make it its policy fully devolve heavy rail policy to Wales.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport and the Welsh Government have been working collaboratively on the approach to rail reform in Wales, building on recent progress with devolution of the Core Valley Lines and the announcement at the Spending Review that at least £445m will be made available to enhance the railway in Wales.
As announced on 5 November, a joint Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be published in Spring 2026 and will be supported by a partnership agreement between Great British Railways and Transport for Wales. This will ensure we are working towards jointly agreed shared objectives for Wales and Borders rail services and UK services serving destinations in the Wales and Borders geography.
This Memorandum of Understanding will set out the intended working arrangements between the two governments for the management of rail infrastructure in Wales.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of track access charges by operators within Great British Railways on the (a) pricing, (b) access and (c) general operations of (i) non-nationalised passenger and (ii) freight operators.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is fundamentally reforming the track access charging framework to remove complexities and the complicated ‘money go round’ that would have required GBR to charge itself for using its own infrastructure.
To ensure transparency GBR will need to carry out cost apportionment process which will account for the cost of providing rail infrastructure and the costs of its own passenger services using GBR managed infrastructure had they been subject to charges.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to discourage pedestrians and motorists from attempting to cross when barriers or lights are active at level crossings in East Tilbury.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager for Britain’s railways, is responsible for the safety of users at East Tilbury level crossing. It is aware of the risks posed to pedestrians and motorists at the crossing, which are reflected in the measures in place to manage these risks, including manually operated barriers and CCTV. To support further improvements in safety, Network Rail plans to hold a safety event with the local community to raise awareness of the risks associated with East Tilbury level crossing and to discuss how misuse can be reduced.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what minimum safety standards will apply to Great British Railways infrastructure and operations.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The minimum safety requirements that apply under existing rail safety legislation will remain unchanged for Great British Railways.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to ensure that track access charges for operators outside Great British Railways will not be increased to offset the absence of access charges for Great British Railways-operated services or for other purposes during the court of their licenses.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is fundamentally reforming the track access charging framework to remove complexities and the complicated ‘money go round’ that would have required GBR to charge itself for using its own infrastructure.
GBR will establish and consult on a new fairer simpler charging framework. The ORR will be a statutory consultee and in its role as a robust, independent appeals body hold GBR’s decisions under the framework to account.
To ensure transparency, GBR will need to carry out and publish a cost apportionment process which will account for the cost of providing rail infrastructure and the costs of its own passenger services using GBR managed infrastructure had they been subject to charges.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of track access charges for operators outside Great British Railways following the implementation of the Railways Bill on applications for (a) new and (b) renewed access rights.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is fundamentally reforming the track access charging framework by transferring the responsibility for who sets charges from the ORR to GBR. This is so the body who maintains the infrastructure (GBR) will be able to set charges appropriately to recover those costs associated with running services on its network.
Regarding existing rights, the charges already in place will be honoured for the current control period (until April 2029).
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82992 on Railways: Freight, which schemes set out in the Spending Review were identified as having potential for increasing the capacity for freight on the routes; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those schemes on freight network performance.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government recognises that the economic and environmental potential of rail freight is significant and that is why we are committed to supporting its growth.
The Spending Review confirmed a number of infrastructure schemes across the country to help support the economy, housing and jobs. These include £3.5 billion for the TransPennine Route Upgrade and £2.5 billion for the continued delivery of East-West Rail between Oxford and Cambridge. Both projects will deliver benefits for rail freight, as well as passenger services.
Options are currently being developed for the Transpennine Route Upgrade to provide increased capacity for rail freight from east and west coast ports to inland terminals.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce the cost of creating new walking, wheeling and cycling routes on disused railways.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Local authorities are empowered to decide where investment is made in their areas. As such, it is for local authorities to consider whether disused railway lines would be suitable for active travel routes and to work with National Highways, in their role as custodians of the historic rail estate, to assess the viability of any particular routes.
In the Spending Review we announced that we are allocating £616 million for Active Travel England from 2026-27 to 2029-30 to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure. This is in addition to the almost £300 million funding for active travel in 2024/25 and 2025/26 which we announced in February.